Lucas is a city in Lucas County,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States. The population was 172 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company established a station at Lucas in 1866, named after Lucas County and Robert Lucas. A

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

for the town was filed on May 9, 1868 and the town was incorporated on March 18, 1887. The town grew slowly until coal was discovered in the area. John--L-Lewis-United-Mine-Workers-President-Lucas-Iowa

John--L-Lewis-United-Mine-Workers-President-Lucas-Iowa

In 1876, the Whitebreast Coal and Mining Company began working a shaft one mile (1.6 km) east of Lucas. This proved successful, and in 1878, they platted a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

there, which they named Cleveland . By 1880, Cleveland had a population of 380, and the first mine was producing 650 to 700 tons of coal per day by the labor of 280 miners and 33 mule drivers. A second mine was opened 3/4 mile from the first, and the two mines sold coal to the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

, and several other railroads to the south and west. The Cleveland post office was open from 1877 to 1891 and then reopened between 1899 and 1908. Very little remained of Cleveland by the 1930s. In 1893, the Lucas Coal Company was working a two-foot coal seam down, employing 24 men. The Big Hill mine in Lucas worked a coal seam below the surface using room and pillar methods, with a shaft not far from the Burlington station. This mine was closed in April 1904 and stripped of equipment, but by mid-1905, plans were in place to reopen it. The reopening lasted until 1907, when the mine was again closed, as the rock directly above the coal was sandstone and it was saturated with water. This mine is noteworthy because John L Lewis got his first coal mining job here, before going on to head the

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

local 799 was organized in Lucas in 1899; its membership was 121 in 1902, but it fell to 57 in 1907 and just 24 in 1912. UMW local 1120 was organized in Cleveland in 1899; membership was 350 in 1902, fell to 125 in 1907 and no membership was reported in 1912. Mine wages varied from $2.36 to $2.56 per day in Cleveland in 1907 (there are no wage figures for Lucas that year). In 1919, Lucas was home to the second most productive coal mine in Iowa, Mine No. 2 of the Central Iowa Fuel Company. This produced 217,169 tons of coal that year and employed 360 men. The last coal mine in the Lucas area was the Iowa-Nebraska Mine, closed in 1923. This mine was located about southwest of Lucas (). The former mine site is now in the Lucas Unit of the Stephens State Forest. The site is now the site of Mine Pond and the Mine Pond Campground in the state forest. This forest was a base of operations for the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in the 1930s. The CCC established the pine and hardwood forest that now dominates this land.Stephens State Forest
web page of th
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
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Geography

Lucas is located on the north bank of White Breast Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River that flows east through the Southern Iowa drift plain. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 172 people, 76 households, and 44 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 175.1 inhabitants per square mile (67.6/km²). There were 92 housing units at an average density of 93.7 per square mile (36.2/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 90.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.0% from other races and 8.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 1.2% of the population. Of the 76 households, 31.6% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 1.3% were cohabitating couples, 17.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 28.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 42.1% of all households were non-families. 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals, 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 23.3% of the residents were under the age of 20; 7.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 and 44; 19.2% were from 45 and 64; and 21.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 216 people, 89 households, and 59 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.4%

, 0.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, and 4.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population. There were 89 households, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were

living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 47.4 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.7% were from 25 to 44; 34.2% were from 45 to 64; and 19.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.2% male and 46.8% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 243 people, 95 households, and 68 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 101 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.77%

, 0.82% Asian, and 0.41% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population. There were 95 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $26,458 versus $21,607 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,145. About 6.9% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Education

Chariton Community School District serves the community.Chariton
"

Iowa Department of Education The Iowa Department of Education sets the standards for all public institutions of education in Iowa and accredits private as well as public schools. It is headquartered in Des Moines. Organization As of 2020, the Iowa Department of Education c ...

. Retrieved on June 18, 2018. The district operates Chariton High School.

Notable people

* George Bennard, composer of " The Old Rugged Cross" *

John L. Lewis John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of Labor unions in the United States, organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers, United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. ...

, president of the UMW * Thomas W. Williams, school principal in Lucas at the age of 18

References

External links

The John L. Lewis Museum
Comprehensive statistical data and more about Lucas {{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Lucas County, Iowa Company towns in Iowa Family of Robert Lucas (governor) Populated places established in 1868